Network Players - Qobuz

Relevant Products: EDGE NQ, Azur 851N, CXN v1 & v2, Stream Magic 6 v2

There are a few different ways of connecting Qobuz media to our Network Players. Please find an explanation of the different Qobuz subscriptions below as well as how these can currently be played on our units.

Qobuz PremiumThe Qobuz standard is MP3 rated at 320 kbps.This format produces an equal or lower quality than Spotify Premium and can be played directly from a device to a Network Player via AirPlay, Bluetooth or Chromecast Built-in (available on the EDGE NQ and CXN v2 only) with no negative effects. For this reason, we would not require a Qobuz partnership as both AAC and AAC+ file types are compatible with any Smart device with either of these technologies.

Qobuz HiFi and Sublime

As their HiFi standard files are 16Bit/44.1kHz FLAC files, it is possible to play these back through our units via an APTX Bluetooth compatible device, Chromecast Built-in (available on the EDGE NQ and CXN v2 only), as well as USB Audio from a PC or Laptop.

It is also possible to play these files via AirPlay however as this is not supported natively by Apple, this would be converted from FLAC to ALAC which is technically the same quality.

As the Sublime subscriptions are download based rather than streaming, you are able to store the files within your Smart device, Computer or NAS drive.The Sublime subscription includes the same FLAC files rated at 16Bit/44.1kHz as the HiFi subscription and again, it is possible to play these back through our units via an APTX Bluetooth (with the BT100), Chromecast Built-in (available on the EDGE NQ and CXN v2 only), Chromecast Audio (sold separately) or AirPlay (ALAC) connection.

To enable playback in the original FLAC format, you can use a connect a USB A to B cable between your PC or Mac and the Cambridge Audio network player and select “USB Audio” as the desired digital input through the network players’ interface. This will then be upscaled to a superior 24Bit/384kHz within the CXN or 851N.

If you own a Chromecast Audio device, you can connect this to one of our Network Players' inputs and use the Cast function to play files up to 24Bit/96kHz wirelessly. We would recommend using an optical connection between the Chromecast and the unit rather than the 3.5mm jack included with the Chromecast as using a digital input will also result in any audio being upsampled to 24Bit/384kHz.

Qobuz Sublime+The Sublime+ subscription includes much higher quality files up to 24 Bit/192kHz. These files cannot be transferred to our network players wirelessly via AirPlay, Bluetooth or Chromecast Built-in.However, Sublime+ can be played to our units from either a USB Audio connection from a computer (as with TIDAL and Qobuz HiFi) or via a NAS drive where these will be stored remotely.